April Snow Showers

 Another month & still I'm limping along. My bruises are now blue & green instead of black & purple while my right knee is doing very well. The left one is still very swollen - probably bursitis - but isn't nearly as painful as it was. Very strange to see all the bruising at the back of it too. But, while I can walk with almost no pain, I can't walk very far at all. I haven't been out since before I fell. Doordash already  knows the way to my door though, I had a gloriously decadent bowl of WorWonton soup the other day for late lunch. It was so big I didn't even have to find dinner!! And my cleaning lady brings me Philippine food on Mondays. Mike - bless his heart - keeps me loaded up with good bread, sliced meat, salad & easy food. 

This week my cleaner & I went through another three boxes. These ones held kitchen stuff. We found 6 cans of coconut milk!! And I wanted to make curry & thought I had none  .  .  .  it's nice to find some of the kitchen supplies I had even though some of them had to be tossed. We found all my soap molds so I can make soap once more - I have several 'kits' with oil combinations ready to make up. And I love my Hive & Ladybug molds, they make a rounded soap with a flat back that fits in the hand nicely & lasts a long time. 

Update: Yesterday I went to the local drive-thru for a coffee. First time I've been driving since I fell on my face. It almost did me in. Had trouble holding the brake while waiting for the Flag-person. Sore knee pressed against the door as I drove. And all the dust from the bridge repairs made me wheeze. Mike had to help me up the ramp when I got back. Guess I'll be home for a while yet .  .  .  .  sigh

But - I took on a small data entry job to keep me busy. What a glutton for punishment .  .  .  And I have a couple of pension applications to do. Keeps the old brain functioning, I guess.

Knitting - no knitting again. I've been sorting thru boxes of yarn & spinning braids instead. OMG - I think the Stash has outgrown my projected age limit. But I found my copy of 'Salt Water Classics'!! I bought it & a bunch of Briggs & Little 'Sport' yarn to make some winter socks w-a-a-a-a-y back. I love the Moose touque but it's the Vamps that really speak to me.

Getting Over It

I'm doing quite well - even if I do say so myself - I'm upright & moving, albeit, slowly. I have no black eye from the whack on my forehead but a third eyebrow instead. I can deal with the eyebrow! I also turned black & blue from my right shoulder down to the elbow with the occasional bruise here & there elsewhere. Both knees are very swollen but the right one is doing better  - guess which one I actually fell on?? All in all it could've been much worse .  .  .  .  Mike brought me a ton of good bread & good fillings for easy meals & checked in every day while two other pals brought hot coffee & food donations since I couldn't carry things easily. Hint, hint - they all want their tax returns done hahahaha. I'm on the mend.

I discovered that the secret to recovering from a fall is to keep moving as much as you can & take anti-inflammatories. If you sit still or stay in bed, whammo, you freeze in place. I think the movement helps carry the internal bleeding/swelling  away from the injury too. I just can't do too much, stand up for too long or get down my ramp just yet. 

While I have been sitting, I've been staring at that big, sheer bin of yarn on the shelf across from me. I see balls & balls of purple Marble yarn. I bought it years ago because I loved the color & wanted a sweater. It turned out not to be a good candidate for an Ample sized garment - too soft & stretchy - but I wonder what kind of blanket it would make??? I always need one over my knees when I sit to watch tv. Or maybe a big shawl which could keep me warm when I sit on the porch. I was thinking sweater when I bought it but maybe it would be so much nicer as a plain Shetland type shawl?

On My Knees Once More

Yesterday I got up early to go out for breakfast & did a nose plant on the carpet on the way to the bathroom. I didn't trip over anything but my own big feet - my right foot doesn't lift as high since I tore the meniscus in my knee - but I ruined the whole day. Had to crawl for my phone & call for help since I can't get up on my own with that bum knee .  .  .  Got to greet the Fire Department braless with my arse pointed into the air since I crawled into a space that I couldn't get out of. What a morning. Amazing how fast they got me back on my feet! My knees were so painful but I could stand & walk without help so I thanked them & sent them away. Only later did I realize I whacked my forehead & shoulder as well .  .  .  .  Spent the rest of the day getting up & down & walking as much as I could to keep my knees from seizing up & took Tylenol Arthritis every 6 hours. Said, 'What the Hell' & let DoorDash bring my supper. I figured today would be the horrible, painful day when I couldn't move.

Well, got up this morning & found I could walk better than late yesterday! Last time I fell I couldn't move the next day!! But, this time I guess I changed that by moving as much as I could yesterday. Surprise, surprise. I'm turning black & blue though. No black eye but my forehead is coloring up nicely & so are my knees even with all the swelling. You just can't win. Sigh.

My cleaning Lady came again on Monday & I introduced her to my Steam Mop. I loved that thing when I got it for Christmas from friends. I thought it was lost but Mike found it in the garage last week. We had to play with it a bit but I got it going & she was thrilled. She'd never seen anything like it - mine has that triangle head so it can really get into corners & around the toilet. I like it because you don't use anything but plain water to clean - no fumes. She steam cleaned my bathroom to death!!

The poor cat has gone feral again even though she comes to rattle the door chain to be fed. So many strangers have come & gone in the past two days that she won't come into the house if I close the door. Good thing summer's on the way & I can leave it open all day. I wonder if the skunk will come visiting again?

Knitting - not much knitting done this past week. I am trying to do some data entry for a friend & it's Tax Season once more .  .  .  . 

In Like a Wet Lamb

 No cleaning lady this week. I decided to be sick instead. Funny thing about that, I realized I'm not looking forward to the cleaning but rather dreading it. She really does a good job but I'm exhausted when she leaves! Since I sit in my chair & watch her do all the work, it's me that's got old & cranky. It's the noise, the fussing & the change that gets me I guess. Mike laughed at me & then said he has the same problem with people in his life. We spend most of our time alone & can only handle people that don't stay too long at a time. Yeah, come & visit but skedadle when you've finished your coffee .  .  .  

I can't wait until the weather gets warm & sunny!! It's finally March & I have hopes for sunshine. Mike built me a new planter box on the porch rail - almost 6 feet long! I intend to fill it with interesting stuff as well as the butt ends of my Romaine lettuces. Sweet potatoes make neat vines & I love Ginger - looks a little like bamboo. And I have some Shallots that sprouted in the fridge. They should look great with a Spider plant, Coleus & ferns .  .  .  .  I want to fill my little porch with color & foliage. I like to sit out there & spin when it's nice.

Speaking of spinning - found a bag of dark alpaca & I'm thinking of combining it with wool. Not sure if I want to blend them or spin them from a big, teased cloud. Alpaca is just too warm on it's own, even for old, cold broads who sit most of the time. If I knit a shawl, memory isn't a problem but anything else needs some. I don't remember if alpaca sheds but a big swatch will help. I hope. 

I remember spinning blended dog hair/wool & I think we used too much pooch because that shawl shed like a mountain dog in Spring! Silk does that too - if you forget to set the twist before crocheting the shawl .  .  .  Oh, the tales I could tell about mistakes!

Still cranking out washcloths - those cones just never end!! But, there's a new sock on the go for a friend & I have to wind "Frog Fight" for my gloves!

More Trash

 

Tuesday's cleaning adventures located not one, not two but the remains of three different sets of dishes in the back of the old cupboards! And there was a jumble of cutlery that went with all three in the old drawer behind my Ikea island. My cleaner & I had a great time tossing most of it out. I saved two Corning Ware dinner plates & two bread plates that I owned 35 years ago when I first moved in. I loved that set. It was translucent white with delicate tiger lilies painted in the middle. I have no idea where the rest went but I don't need them now anyway. I now have three shelves that I can reach easily & more paring knives than I need. Funny how it goes with paring knives .  .  .  .  you either have too many or can never find one. I love them. I also love my veggie cleaver which, don't tell anyone, I usually use for meat as well. It's not the big, heavy one the Chinese meat man uses but that stainless sharpens up nicely & does whatever I need!! I once butchered up an entire quarter of venison with it!

While snuggled in my recliner I watched snow falling yesterday. Just what we need at the end of February when the buds are starting to swell. I have a pot of bulbs on the porch with 3" of green poking out of the earth. And snow on the ground is not good for gimps who need to walk .  .  .  .  

A blast from the past - the photo is my favorite Crab Cactus in it's blazing glory. It used to spend late spring to late fall outside, on the patio, under the table with my Jade plant in the semi-shade. It bloomed all winter when it came inside & often  kept on blooming when it went back outside as well.

The Cleaning Lady - part 2

 She came, she cleaned & I managed to dirty only 3 things before she came back this time. My gawd that girl is a whiz.

 She's decided to clean the fridge next. I'm so glad it isn't that bad. My pal Ron hauled everything out after Christmas & tossed most of it. I even wiped the shelves before he put them back so it isn't too terrible except for the crispers that get backed up .  .  .  but I'm buying fewer things more often now so it doesn't go bad on me. 

One of the big problems is that I have to cook or get things going in the morning before I get tired or I don't cook dinner at all. By 5, I'm too tired to chop, peel & dice. More & more of my evening meals are light with a large late lunch. I am not a breakfast eater at all so it works out. And since I do like oatmeal, I often have oatmeal & dried fruit for dinner. I love it. Thank gawd for the microwave!! Slow cooker chilli for tomorrow I think . . . . .

She also cooks. She brought me two skewers of Philippine BBQ pork. Was soooo good! I ordered 10 of them. Two or three with a salad or veggies on the side will make a really nice meal. Mike put his order in too. I think we'll keep her.

The cat left me a gift by the back door last night. I didn't find it until I stepped on it as I turned on the kitchen light - yup, a big, fat mouse. She didn't even eat any of it. Guess the processed food in the food dish is so much better that raw mouse just isn't the same anymore.

Knitting - two more wash cloths down half a cone of yarn to go. I wanted to knit some gloves - I fell in love with that Knitty pattern - Handspan - and finally found the yarn to cast on. It's called - Frog Fight - florescent green with dark splotches, if you can imagine! When I find my damn camera, I'll include pictures.

Found my Chicken Bag, above, with needles & half a sock inside on Monday. Someone stuffed it into a box of kitchen supplies when I moved. Now if I can only find the other ball of yarn .  .  .  .

The Cleaning Lady Cometh

 I've been hanging on to Independence with breaking fingernails. As I become feebler - is that even a word??? - I've been squawking loudly that I can do it myself. But, if it falls on the floor, it stays there unless I can get it up with my picker up stick or bend over on a good day. 

Sunday I knocked over a half cup of coffee & had to throw a towel over it because I couldn't wipe it up. There's a ring of 'stuff', including garbage bags, where I sit most often. I have a method to the madness. I have to admit, it gets out of hand. Just pulling stuff out of the back or bottom of the fridge or the dryer reduces me to breathlessness very quickly. Do it too often & I have to spend the rest of the day in my chair, quietly or go to bed. Cooking has become difficult unless it's in one pot & washing floors is impossible. But, I'm not ready for Care quite yet. 

Enter the Cleaning Lady. She's the girlfriend of a friend of mine who came to Canada to work in her Aunt's cleaning company. Aunty sponsored her, provided room & board & minimum wages. And then aunty treated her like a slave. She managed somehow to save enough money to get back home but my friend offered free room & board if she would keep house for him, instead. I think she's also been cooking for his best friend who lives in the basement suite! She eventually organized the whole house, renters & all, became engaged to my friend & looked after him when he had a near fatal illness & surgery! She's all of 4'11" & never stops working. She called me & told me I needed help & she was available on Mondays. Before I knew it, she was here with rubber gloves & bucket. She cleaned the kitchen & moved stuff around until I had to make her stop & go home!! Boy, does my kitchen sink ever sparkle! That woman is a dynamo. She did all the work but I was worn out when she left. She also thinks she needs to cook for me. OMG. I'm going to try to confine her to 4 hours a week doing all the things that make me breathless. Mike loves her already .  .  .  .

Knitting - you know how it is when the sun comes out & you start dreaming of summer Tees & airy open Cardigans??? I've already been sitting on the porch with the old Ipad looking .  .  .  .  problem is, I think I'd like to spin on the porch instead. Meanwhile, I've just cast-on another big washcloth in orange & white stripey cotton.

Finding Knitting

My doctor has been telling me for the last two & a half years to lay down with my feet up for at least an hour every afternoon to help the circulation in my feet & ankles. Problem is, when I lay down I fall asleep. When I fall asleep, even when it's intended to be an hour or so, I'm out for several hours. That screws with my bedtime & keeps me up till dawn. If I could lay down with my feet up & knit??? Not possible, I've tried. I just don't get enough knitting time.

And speaking of knitting, it was my intention to have a new cardigan by now. But, I wanted to finish the washcloths first & then get right to the cardi since I really need one in this cold & drafty house. The truth is, I still haven't finished one. I have several started, they got packed stuffed into bins when I had to move fresh out of the hospital, but that's it. Two sets of Denise needles are scattered throughout my yarn bins in this project & that project but no completed cardi for me. Even though everything's in the back room in bins, I still need help getting to it!! It's horrible to contemplate, but I may have to buy one. 

So, I continue to live in thick, winter sweatshirts. I love them but a wool sweater is so much warmer than a thick cotton sweatshirt any day. I have the horrible suspicion I'll be finishing my sweater just in time for summer .  .  .  

Has anyone seen the new Knitty Winter Surprise???? 

 

Another Marshmallow World

 I survived Christmas & New Year's Eve all by myself once again. I made a huge pot of Italian Soup - Mike brought me more Tofurkey sausages & a bag full of zucchini before he left for a short visit to one of the Gulf Islands for a break. He snuck in a couple of bags of Tostidos & hummus for a treat too. So although I ate Tostidos, I also ate bags of cauliflower & broccoli dipped in hummus so it wasn't too disastrous!! I'm not a drinker, although some cider would've hit the spot, but I sweetened my tea with Hazelnut & Butter Pecan flavored whiteners, yummmm. Last night, it became a marshmallow world outside once more.

The cat was IN on New Year's. I did hear a mouse the night before so the cat was in hunting mode. I suspect she really likes to lay on the carpet & look out the window for racoons & wilder cats. The cat was also IN last night as the new load of snow fell too. I think she ate all night & is looking extremely big & glossy right now. Her coat is sooooo soft & thick on a slightly fatter cat below. She, for one, doesn't have to scrounge & starve outside all winter like a lot of others do.

I haven't been OUTSIDE since the day before Christmas Eve. I miss going out for coffee but this is disastrous weather for anyone unsteady on their feet. So I won't tempt fate & go anywhere. Good thing Amazon delivers . . . . 

Knitting - dug in the stash & found twelve skeins of PURPLE heather Mule Skinner yarn from Custom Woolen Mills in Carstairs, Alberta. It's a rustic 2 ply, grown & processed in Canada but softer than the wool from Briggs & Little. It also has less vm & dust. It might be different pastures - all I know is, it's easier for me to use in doors. I was very happy to find it. I want to make 'Enveloped' from the latest "Knitty"!! I need something warm to wear in the house when I'm working at the computer or watching tv. My little house is heated with a trailer furnace - we always used the Mama Bear wood stove as well but I'm too feeble to carry wood even if my O2 hose would reach the woodshed! So the poor little furnace is working hard to try to keep me warm. I prefer to wear heavy cotton sweatshirts & lined joggers but, of course, wool is much warmer. I thought Enveloped would be a fast knit on bigger needles - my cold fingers don't like fine needles right now - & I really like the upsidedown version. No spinning going on but there are plans .  .  .

More Snow Days

 Wow, more snow on top of the old snow! My car is a big marshmallow in the drive. Since this is not the weather for an unsteady gimp to go wandering, I am staying inside until it's gone. Lucky for me, Mike is still shopping for me & his mom, so I have nothing to go out for. I really, really miss Mcdonald's coffee & Egg McMuffins but he does remember them sometimes too . . . .  My semi tame cat meows at the door morning & evening so I'm not totally alone. She's looking magnificent in her long fur coat but then, she should be since she's scarfing down a can & a half of soft food with her crunchies every day. But she does pay for her keep - every couple of days she likes to stay inside at night, in the back of the kitchen, on the big mat next to the sliding door. She gets to look outside from the top of the stairs into the snowy wilderness. While there, she does away with the wildlife coming in for the winter. I think she probably sneers at the big, black, wild cat that likes to steal her food all summer when the door is open, too. 

I gave myself a subscription to PLY magazine for my birthday last spring. And then I ordered a whole lot of back issues that arrived in early December. I really prefer to have physical books & magazines in my hands although I will read them online if I have to. Did I mention that I love textbooks & wrote in the columns when I was in college?? It's so hard to highlight, underline & make notes in downloads .  .  .  

I really like PLY. I have years & years of back issues to others, although I gave up subscribing since they seemed to recycle all the old stuff over & over. Today I was reading the Worsted issue. I learned that I spin mostly Woolen but change to semi Worsted when I spin prepared, dyed fibre. Interesting. I like woolen method the best, overall, except for socks. I love to spin right from the fleece or tease the wool into a big cloud & spin from that. I love the smell of clean fleece as I spin & I also love knitting it into soft, warm hats, mitts & scarves. 

I haven't knit a woolen spun sweater in years although I do like to crochet afghans with it.
They're warmer, even a small one for the knees, but stretch too much for a sweater in my size. I've not been a fan of shawls but maybe I should try a simple one now that I'm confined to home & the big chair in the cold. A simple, garter stitch, triangular shawl in grey Romney might be nice to have. And there's that big bag of Coopworth & the bag of Pink Merino badly processed into blobs, knots & semi carded batts. I love the color of the Merino but it will never be anything but blobby art yarn so, might as well go with the flow & make it so. Now, where the heck is the box where it's packed away??

A White Christmas

A White Christmas this year! My memory may be faulty but I think most of the Christmases of my childhood were white. We built snow forts & had snowball fights across residential side streets when I was a kid. One year, with a dad's help, we all built an igloo in the neighbor's front yard. We weren't allowed to go into it until it was sprayed inside & out & allowed to freeze solid overnight. But we played in it all through the holidays .  .  .  My parents bought the house at the top of the hill & the school yard was at the bottom. When it got really cold & snowy, my dad would flood the road with water & the neighborhood would sled down the hill & into the back of the school football field at the bottom. Everyone was off from Christmas Eve till after Boxing Day anyway so the whole neighborhood sledded. No one spent the time shopping.

I have to say, the 'Shopping Mall' didn't yet exist when I was a kid .  .  .  we shopped at strip malls with Butcher shops, Bakeries, Drug Stores, even a Bulk Buy store, all next to the Buy Low or Safeway or SuperValu. London Drugs did NOT sell milk in those days. Milk was still delivered to the door in my suburb. I do miss all the little shops .  .  . 

Today I had two Turkey dinners, one for brunch & one for dinner. They both had lots of brown turkey meat, mashed potatoes with gravy, diced carrots & turnips & even a wedge of stuffing. The owner of my favorite cafe showed up at the door yesterday with them. He had a huge catering job for today & made a few extras for selected customers. I was very surprised & thankful. I don't have a big oven & raw turkey doesn't microwave very well so I don't get much of it. I think this was the best present of the year!!

Knitting - still finishing up my wash cloths. All my friends have theirs so I can spend time making mine. Hoping to start a top-down cardigan for myself from Deb Gemmel of the Cabin Fever gang. Dug into a couple of baskets full of zip lock bags of yarn to find a dozen skeins of Purple Mule Skinner wool from Custom Woolen Mills in Alberta. It's softer than my favorite B&G wool but similar in weight - about an Aran weight - so it will knit fast. Something warm for getting in & out of my house & car would be nice this time of year. My big cotton sweatshirts are cosy but wool is warmer.

It's almost Christmas

Here we are, another year end, another Christmas with the pandemic surging out of control. I and my little bubble are doing okay, we're all warm, well fed & solitary mostly. None of us is cooking turkey for anyone, including ourselves, but that's okay because it's no different than last year. I have enough canned goods to feed me & the cat for months!!

Got my third Covid shot on Tuesday! Holy crap, was that place busy!! It didn't help that our Covid centre is on the side of a main shopping mall & it's a few days before Christmas . . . . . trying to get a handicapped parking spot or any spot at the door meant waiting for a half hour! I didn't think when I booked my appointment, that's for sure. And this time around, I've had a hot, sore arm for two days too. Guess my anti-bodies are armed & ready for bear! But it's done & I don't have to go anywhere until the middle of January.

And what am I doing for Christmas?? I shall enjoy the blessed aloneness of the day. I may make a big pot of Italian soup. I downloaded a couple of  audiobooks & will listen while I knit, work a jigsaw puzzle or peruse the latest PLY magazines I also downloaded. I shall continue to work on several cones of crafter's cotton that I ordered a while back to make large washcloths for Christmas this year & have managed to churn out at least three for everyone except me. I try to make them at least a square foot so they hold a lot of soapy water. I hate trying to scrub feet with teensy little cloths! They make great dish cloths but I prefer to use them in the shower. The men in my life appear to love them. Gotta be nice to them since they take out my garbage cans & mow my lawns! I will now have the time to knit several for me. And maybe even a laundry bag as well. Oh, & maybe, just maybe, I might knit myself a hat. 

 

Out on the Town

Successfully signed on for the Covid booster shot this A.M. Thankfully, I was able to get an appointment before Christmas & at the Covid centre in the middle of town. It's flat with very convenient handicapped parking right at the door!! I can easily - well, easier than most other places - access the place all by myself, even with an O2 cart & cane. I expect it will be much easier to get in & out this time around since I won't have to juggle that damned cane & the O2 cart.

I just got Frank - my brand new walker with a seat - I can go more places!! Mike picked it up last week & assembled it for me. I've had a couple of sessions walking with it already. Walked two houses down & back the first day without problems & went to Hen Long - favorite Chinese grocery - two days after that. Had to sit down several times while shopping but got in & out with roast pork, Udon noodles, fried bananas, BBQ pork buns, fish balls & home again!! The hardest part was getting Frank in & out of the van by myself & hauling groceries up the ramp. I did have to dump the shopping bag on the table & lay down for a nap when I got the door open, but I made it! Saturday, I also went to my Doctor's office for my flu shot. That was a longer walk made easier with Frank. My only complaint was that the walker was a bit too low. I want to walk upright not hunched over . . . . other than that, I'm happy.

Mike added an attachment for the O2 bottle & a coffee holder with some help from the Home Depot plumbing department. Frank came with a basket/pouch in front & seat which will hold up to 500 pounds. That's me, O2 bottle, coffee & groceries included - I made sure I couldn't exceed the GVW. All the brake cabling is inside the structure so there's nothing to catch on things as I walk. It is a bit of a struggle to get it in & out of the van on my own but I think practice will fix that. A little upper body workout once in a while should help too. It's so much better than dragging the small O2 cart & trying to use a cane when my leg is painful & it's far more stable than not using a cane, that's for sure!! Now when I walk faster than my O2 can deliver, I can sit, relax & wait. Simple. I know, I know, this is the top of the scooter slope but I want to walk as long as I can. 

Knitting - I decided I need a simple cardigan to keep me warm while I watch tv in the evenings. I aired most of my Briggs & Little yarn this past spring & summer, a skein at a time, letting them blow in the wind until all the dust & bits were gone. I do love B&G for it's toughness, colorfastness & ease of use. It 'sticks' to itself so you don't have to worry about dropping a stitch. It's good for color work if that's your thing & it just gets softer with handling. I knit a hoodie for a friend a few years back & his mom pinched it when she came for a visit. She said she washed it on 'gentle' & even tossed it into the dryer for a short tumble before drying it flat. Apparently it just got softer & a little fuzzy. Just reporting! I've washed & tumbled a washcloth-sized sample with good results so I'm not surprised but I haven't had the guts to throw a whole sweater in . . . .

Years ago, I bought a whole basket of Blue B&L skeins on sale from my favorite yarn shop. Most of the skeins were different shades, some also thicker than others & I added a full Red skein as well as several balls of other colored leftovers. I know they're all in my bins & should make a terrific house cardi with a wild striped yoke on a plain blue body. What do you think???

A pair of socks also on the go but I have to work on them during the day before I get too tired to see the stitches! Also trying to finish a crocheted afghan.

All By Myself . . . .

The donut has solved my breathing problems for the moment. It's a little nastier to use - inhale white dust directly instead of in a mist - but it works much better. My blood oxygen is much higher resting & returns to higher numbers faster after exercise. Surprise, surprise. I have to learn to realize what a 'breathing emergency' is a lot sooner it seems. 

Still not that steady on my feet but I am standing & cooking more than I used to. And frankly, it is soup & stew season, don't you agree??? A couple of days ago I made Italian Soup - a favorite of mine with diced tomatoes, onion soup mix & Tofurky Italian sausage with a handful of tortellini in it & four cups of chopped zucchini at the end. Deeelicious! This morning, I tossed a package of chicken drumsticks into the pot with some baby carrots, small red potatoes, parsnips, cabbage, garlic, coarsely chopped onions & just a smidge of concentrated chicken broth. I let it simmer until the chicken fell off of the bones! I think there's enough for three meals. It's also very tasty. 

Haven't been able to go out that often lately since it's been so wet. By the time I get down the ramp with the O2 machine in tow, get the machine in the back seat & belted in & get myself in the front, I'm wet. Dumping the garbage as well ensures I'm really soaked! So, I haven't bothered going out much. And when I do, I'm running through the raindrops to the nearest drive-thru for a coffee & muffin. I live an exciting life.

So, since I'm stuck at home, I got Mike to find a box with my knitting books in it. It's crazy but I have years & years of Interweave Knits, Cast On & Knitters etc & I can't find much that I like. Ditto with the Knitting books. Maybe I'm just too old for them now. I really prefer to knit from the top down in the "Cabin Fever" style. One piece from the top, try on as you go to make sure it fits. Kimono style also suits me & is excellent to show off handspun. I did spin up several shades of Purple into multiple skeins & which all lived in a big basket in my old living room - just have to find it all .  .  .  .  . And I wonder where all my leftover sock yarns are. I had three shopping bags full for 'scrappy' socks. I soooooo wish I'd been able to pack my stuff myself!!

 

Out of Breath

Another day, another doctor. Just had my semi-annual appointment with my Respirologist about my lungs & breathing problems. Normally, other than general aches, pains, gashes & rashes, I'm fairly healthy. I don't get colds & fevers or  migraines as a rule & don't suffer with breathing emergencies. Until yesterday, apparently. I found it hard to breathe yesterday. I used my emergency puffer three times yesterday. And I almost couldn't make the corner at the end of my street with my car as I drove home wheezing. I even had my friend bang on my back for a few minutes to loosen everything inside. And then I went to bed & slept for almost 4 hours. Apparently, I had a breathing emergency.

Today all my puffers have been changed - cost 6 times more & I have a steroid pill to take as well. Good grief!!

I'm also adding a walker to my list of new-to-me goodies. I've always said that I walk best with a shopping cart. Hahaha. It seems a whole lot more sensible than staggering along with a cane and of course, the oxygen bottle behind me as I try to creep forward when my leg is sore. Mike says he can build me a bracket for the O2 tank on the side of the walker which also comes with a seat & bag or basket. So it should be better than trying to walk with my O2 cart alone with everything hanging off a hook. Chairs & benches, like bathrooms, have become even scarcer than money on the sidewalk! God knows I can use the exercise & maybe I can get out more if I can sit when I need to catch my breath. Yes, I AM still avoiding that scooter.

In the meantime, I've added four more giant face cloths to my collection - gave away two of them - AND found a home for the huge bag of acrylic yarn I was given. Whooo - it has found a home with a nice woman who is making things for her grandchildren. One more bag of stuff gone from my living room! Mike is trying to make me declutter the place but I find it very hard to do. I need to SEE what I have or I think I'm out of it & buy another one .  .  .  

Been trying to ball all my Briggs & Little skeins so I can knit myself a new cardigan. What a pain in the butt. The wool is 'sticky' so it likes to hang on to itself. That makes it really nice for cables & intarsia but a royal pain when just winding but I really do like to use it. I like it's rusticness - is that a word??? - don't even mind little bits of vm & it just gets softer with handling. I have some lovely dark grey & red singles that I once thought of using for socks but now have decided to knit into a V-neck cardigan for me. All for me. I have even printed a pattern for those wonderful Knitty gloves I wanted to make - now that my cataracts have been replaced & cheaters found - I believe I may be able to actually see what I'm doing!!

Eating Out

I had so many plans for the last month & they all came to nothing! Got a call from a long ago client who hasn't filed a tax return in years so I've been banging on the keyboard once again. I can't do a full day like I used to do but it's amazing how it all falls in place once you get started. I'm good for a few hours & that's it but the old brain is still working. It feels good to do a little something too. 

And speaking about doing a little something once in a while, I've been spending an awful lot on dry cat food lately! It seems like I'm always buying & hauling in another bag of the stuff. I have one semi domesticated fluffy cat, Fuffies - she's the last of my Ex's herd of 10 feral cats - and one really feral, black cat that only comes in when the door is open. She picks at her food all day long while Blackie races in, eats like he hasn't seen food in a week, scattering bits as he eats & streaks out. So why am I going through cat food like crazy??? Well, while I was watching tv in my lounger, I heard chomping, peeped around the corner & saw the critter above at the dish. Just my luck! Last year it was raccoons. Now I know why Fuffies has been staying in at night when I close the door .  .  .  . 

The neighbor who cuts my grass told me about the skunk under my front porch but I rarely get the chance to meet it. It gets up before me in the morning & I generally don't go out when it starts to get dark so we haven't had the opportunity to meet. But how in the world did it discover the cat food dish inside the house??? Is it smart enough to just follow a cat? Good thing Fall is upon us. The door will be closing for the season soon & Skunker can find a new diner for the winter!!

Knitting - haven't done a lot of knitting lately other than the cotton washcloths. I decided to make a batch of them not only for the shower but also for the kitchen. I bought several cones of cotton when it was on special so I have lots of it. My first shower with the new big handknit washcloth was super!! It keeps more suds than the nylon scrunchie type & washes twice as much body. I love them in the shower. I also love them when cleaning up a mess in the kitchen. AND they're so much Greener than paper towels .  .  .  

Having all my books, magazines & supplies in one place again has also been wonderful. I've spent a lot of time going through the books I own. I found my new Vogue knitting book, ordered, packed & moved before I opened the box!! I also found my new Samsung phone, still in the box with battery burst open, that also got packed up & moved over two years ago when I got sick. What can I say??? Hopefully, all my yarn is safe in the bins .  .  .  .

 

The Dawg Days

It's been a good week since I recovered from my bout of whatever that was. The heat wave has stopped, a little rain came & went & everything in my yard is green once again. If I'm here next year, I intend to get down to the lawn level & trim the bushes back. Maybe I can get some wildflower seeds scattered too. I love the little forget-me-nots peeping out from between the driveway stones.

Haven't accomplished much this week since I've been looking in all the bins & boxes that've been in storage for two years. I think I could stock a small shop easily with all the stuff I have! It's kind of amazing having it all in one room! All my sewing stuff is there in bins too. No closets to hide any of it either. And then there's all that Briggs & Little I ordered last year to add to it. I've hung all the skeins outside all spring & summer to blow all the dust & vm out of them. I hope to knit the B&G this winter - I have two patterns from Kate Davies to choose from - St Catherines or Carbeth. Both bought with my niece in mind. I have a couple of cardigans in mind for myself too - this house is too draughty NOT to wear one in the winter without the woodstove lit! My cardis are easy to knit since I use a simple top-down method from Cabin Fever. I just have to get toit. LOL

My shopper Mike came back from camping with freestone Peaches!! I confess to eating three of them for lunch on the day I got them. And then he showed up just before supper with two bags of Bing cherries!! Six bucks a pound!! BUT worth every bite!!! I think I ate two pounds before bed .  .  .  I suspect they were the last delightful nuggets of the season.

So, there's lots to do right now. I don't think I'll unpack all my bins right away. I think I'll find what I want/need for the kitchen ASAP & worry about the rest later. I really want my serger & sewing machine set up on a table but I think I'll mainly knit for the winter. I already have two pairs of socks promised & a cardi for myself. Washcloths on the needles for myself already & maybe a few extra for Mike for Christmas too. Yes, Virginia, it's on the horizon. Back to school, Hallowe'en, Turkey advertising & then the pre-season sales before the middle of October! Be warned.

On the Mend

 I'm not ready to go shopping but today I actually got up, got dressed in outside clothes & put my shoes on. It's been a miserable week & a bit but I think I'll live, bless the gods of Imodium. Still a little wobbly but the lights are on .  .  .   I believe I've even lost a little weight, the hard way. Something to be grateful for, I suppose. And I think I can even get a pot of soup going - I know it should be something creamy & light but I want something that tastes good like Italian soup. Can of diced tomatoes, two cans of water, one onion soup mix, one package of Tofurkey Italian sausages - no meat & let simmer all afternoon. The smell of the simmering soup will knock your socks off!! I usually add a handful of dried tortellini close to the end & then toss in a bag of spinach or a couple of cups of zucchini just before serving with the heat off & the lid on for 5 minutes or so. It's soooo good & so easy to make. 

I ended up driving to my favorite cafe for grilled cheese & soup to go for lunch because I wanted a coffee so badly - it's been a week since I had one. It was lovely - a large coffee with FOUR milks. I suspect there was more milk in it than coffee .  .  .  Tomorrow, I'll make Italian soup if there's no consequences from today's adventure, chicken soup if there is.

No knitting going on, been too miserable. Not one sock row! But my second lime washcloth is growing rapidly. And I've been checking out all the PLY magazines I bought but never got to read before they got packed into a box. It's like Christmas! The one about Woolen spinning made me long to spin once more. Who knows, maybe I'll do that while the soup simmers .  .  .  .

Bugs

Been on the sick list for the last few days in the latest heat wave. Someone said it was close to 40c on Friday but I spent all my time in my chair in front of the fan set on 'Hurricane'. I was coming down with some ugly intestinal bug - where do these things come from when you don't see anyone most of the time???? My buddy Little Ron, has it too & we haven't even had a coffee together in at least two weeks!! Craziness! Good thing Mike is away camping. 

Since the most ambitious thing I've done is put on my shoes this week, I have no new knitting to report other than a new washcloth on the needles & a second sock started, barely started .  .  .  I've had my nose mostly in the books that've been in storage for two years. I finally tossed my ratty old purple sweater - I know I bought the yarn on sale in the late 70s in three shades of purple & knit two sweaters, a scarf & touques in the beginning. I recycled the yarn at least twice to end up with the final sweater that I wore for years in my cold basement. Whenever I took it off, the cat would claim it so it had some pulls in it as well as thin elbows so I stuffed it in a box finally, for the cat. I loved that sweater. Knit top down with a round yoke & long sleeves. I should knit another in the same pattern!!

Out of Storage

I've been a little more ambitious since the dreadful heat wave stopped. It actually rained a little too - enough so I had to hurry down the ramp to close my car windows. I had them open a half inch or so to keep the heat from blowing out a window since I have a dark interior. You haven't lived till you've gone out in a hurry to get somewhere only to find your side windows or windshield laying on the ground in a million pieces. I even found my portable radio melted to my dash one time!

Anyway, as I said, I've been a little more ambitious with cooler weather. All my stuff has exited the storage unit. The best part is that it's all here in the big back bedroom!! I intend to go through it & get rid of what I won't ever use again.  Found my stash of silk hankies already!! And all my bins of spinning & knitting materials - my books, I have missed the books especially!! I really want to get back to knitting - I need a winter cardigan because the house gets draughty without the wood stove going. I love knitted facecloths so I've already finished one big washcloth for myself - I love to make them about a foot square - in variegated Lime. I bought a dozen cones of crafter cotton when it was on sale several years ago & it's been in a bin ever since. Another item I want to finish sometime this year is the greys & blues afghan I started many years ago for the old BoyToy.

It was always supposed to go on his couch in the new basement apartment but he became a bit of a shit so I put it away & never finished it. I fully intended to add a nice big red strip to it with a navy outer strip but I may just finish it off in the same colors I started with & give it away just to get it out of the bin. It's too dull for me!!

Now if I can get my head out of the bins, maybe I'll get some dishes washed & kitchen stuff sorted too. Although I brought my kitchen cleaver with me, I forgot so many other things like my box grater & wok lid.